Message in the Bottle

I  remember this vividly. As I paddled my bicycle through dry leaves at the corner of the road, a chirpy sound perfectly echoed with the evening chatter of the birds. I loved  it......I still do. And that was precisely the time when somewhere in my mind the idea was born for the first time. As the bicycle turned towards the LASER lab, I came out of the hiding and counted again.

That was the only chance I had ....to make it right.

'This should be easy' I thought confidently. And perhaps I was right. Because I knew everything. 

I looked at my watch. I still had to talk to the Professor and the technician. And then I would get the chance of the lifetime. And so I thought. 

One more hour and i would be alone. And it would be a perfect time forthe faceoff. This could change my future. This should.

I waited patiently. 

As the sun began to set, I saw more students around the corner where i was hiding. I saw my watch again. Not yet - i told myself. 

As the evening grew darker, I pulled my hood and started walking towards the lab. The lab was a modern state-of-the-art technology building with all the science's latest marvels inside. And the first one being a retinal scanner enabled security system at the gate. 

I walked down the deserted aisles of LASER lab, i was careful to avoid any encounters. . But i knew the place was deserted except for the one person, who was working in module number 6.

As I walked down the aisle quietly towards module number 6 which was on my right hand side, my heart started pounding heavily on the anticipation of what I was going to do. 

"One small step for man...a giant leap for the mankind" Perhaps.

As I had expected the door was open. The room was dark but i could clearly see a figure on the far side of a small rectangular room sitting on a small chair. The table was lit by a small lamp and he was facing down looking Einstein's theorem.

"Vaibhav" - I called him

"Yes. Who is this" - He replied trying to adjust to the dark to see who the stranger was.

"I am afraid your work stops here" - I ordered

He was confused. “Ah! You know me” I said to myself.  

"I have taken permission from the Professor to use this lab for my work" he defended "But who are you sir?" - he asked again still trying to figure out my silhouette.

"You sure you don't know me Vaibhav? 20 years could not have changed me that much " I removed my hood and  stepped into the dim street light coming through the window.

–

And the moment arrived….the moment which the history had waited for thousands of years …the moment which was man’s greatest defiance of God …the moment which was created and was never before…dawned upon him as the biggest shock of his lifetime

  

"It.....it can't be" - He was shaking with fear and anxiety. 

"D...Don't play this on me....this is not funny" - he was clearly afraid

"Don't be afraid, Vaibhav. This is real. And i have no intentions to harm you. How can i? I am YOU Vaibhav!!!!"

"But H...How? W....Why? " Poor me. I always stammered when i was afraid. I thought.

"Wasn't this your dream? Your dream is standing in flesh in front of you. Those equations...." I pointed towards his notes. "...are the beginning. Isn't it? And you succeeded. I succeeded"

"I...I don't understand" 

"Just calm down and focus on what i am saying. Let me start from the beginning." I pulled a chair for myself as he watched cautiously.

"Who are you ?" He asked a again

"Don't ask foolish questions. Do you still have doubts? Well if you are wondering from how far i came back, i have already told you. 20 years. I am your future self from exactly 20 years, Vaibhav"

"Now let me tell you everything. I came here for a purpose. And i am going to tell you how exactly your life will go, if you continue your work."

"After the study you do on the equations and then building a prototype with entangling LASERS. You will be captured by GRAW -Global Research and Analysis Wing. They came when i achieved a theorization breakthrough for time travel. That was about 12 years ago. They then eliminated my identity and asked me to work at making a prototype. Initially i was very content. I had everything i ever wanted. But then it started to get worse. I saw things at GRAW which i shouldn't have. I realized the implications of such a power in human hands.

But I continued …and after 20 years of work I built first successful working time warp machine."

I paused. Looked him in eyes and said -

"What you see in front of yourself is the first time-traveler in the history of mankind."

And for the first time this evening, he smiled

"I...I succeeded"

"Listen to me" I shouted

“Don’t you see this? I made a big mistake. Imagine what will happen when this invention lands with dictators and terrorists. Each one of them fighting at all the fronts in time-line. Just imagine every power assassinating the ancestors of their enemies and changing the course of the world each time. The worlds will fight with each other at the fronts of time and histories will change. And the wars will be unending as no one would remain safe ....safe from his own past"

“In fact, GRAW will kill me once this first time travel succeeds......and it has. I only have this one chance to change everything

"Do you understand now ? Only you can save me . And save yourself."

"Stop this work and live. Continue and you give this world a weapon more destructive than quark bombs"

"Only you can stop the madness which will begin once i go back."

Absolute silence filled between us. I knew what he was thinking. He would be compromising on his biggest dream. His face hardened.

He stared at me. Perhaps he was measuring me as his achievement....and so i was. Same individuals ....just separated by time. He wouldill make this possible in another 20 years. But not now, I had to change things now. 

"I will stop this work future Vaibhav. But i want to know about my alternate futures. Once you go back-your past will also change. I just want to know about these 20 years which will never happen." - he said with intriguing eyes

“This alternate future is a disaster Vaibhav. I lost everything. I lost family…our family…imagine how hard it was for me to stage my own death in front of the whole world. Everyone was devastated…and I…I just stood there doing nothing. I deserted everyone…just for this dream…”

Tears begin to roll off his eyes. It was hard for me to separate from my family…to abandon them. And he understood this.

“I hope you understand now, myself” – I said

He nodded while still crying.

“Now, stop crying like a baby. You have changed your future now” – I said mockingly trying to make him laugh

“I will never change, I guess” – he said wiping his eyes and now trying to smile

"And so i'll part now. Take my advice - Enjoy your life to fullest. You won't know what you are losing till you have lost it. I am going back now. I hope everything will be changed in my time."

"But what will happen to you now?" - he asked

"Me? I will just go back in my time where everything must have been changed. My life will be different when i go back. Perhaps i'll end up in a parallel reality with another Vaibhav living a happy life. I will just have to kill him in that case" - i said with a wink and he smiled.

Knowing that i have changed the world, I departed with a lightened heart. The aisles were empty as before. I walked briskly towards the bushes in the complete dark, hoping to see a changed world in MY time. 

Suddenly i realized that someone was following me. I can't risk being detected....this will hamper the balance. I can't be found now. I started running towards the bushes where i hid my prototype. And at that moment i felt a chill in my spine when i heard that voice -

"Stop Running Vaibhav I know you are there"

"It....Can't be...." - I stammered as i turned around and realized what i was seeing

"Don't be shocked Vaibhav. This is me. 10 years could not have changed me that much." - He stood there . Smiling at me.

-End of Part I - 




Thanks a lot to Vaibhav Anand again for giving very important comments about the story. I hope i have not borrowed too much from back to the future, primer etc ;). Critical comments are most welcome.